Police probing rash of car burglaries

Published: Friday, May 7, 2010 at 11:36 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, May 7, 2010 at 11:36 a.m.

THIBODAUX — When Beverly Guillot went to her car outside her home on Orchard Drive Thursday morning she noticed the passenger side door had been opened.

Her purse, much to her relief, was still on the seat where she left it, and no money was missing.

Orchard Drive, which is nestled in the Sugar Ridge subdivision off La. 20 outside the Thibodaux city limits, is not a place one would expect car burglaries, Guillot said.

“Everybody knows everybody, and it’s very quiet and trusting,” Guillot said of the neighborhood.

Lafourche law-enforcement officials are investigating 17 vehicle break-ins reported Thursday morning in the Rienzi subdivision inside the Thibodaux city limits and the Sugar Ridge subdivision on the outskirts.

None of the burglarized vehicles were locked, officials said. Officials described the only items stolen as “loose change.”

“People have to be very vigilant,” Thibodaux Assistant Police Chief Calvin Cooks said, urging them to lock their vehicle’s doors. “This is a crime of opportunity. These people are not breaking any windows.”

It is unknown at this time whether the same person or group of people burglarized the vehicles in the subdivisions. It is also unknown how many people were involved.

Thursday’s rash of incidents came just one week after a separate round of vehicle break-ins.

Laptops, Palm Pilots, GPS systems and cell phones were stolen in the Camellia Drive break-ins last Friday. An undetermined amount of money was stolen from the vehicles on Parlange Street May 5.

That only “loose change” was stolen Thursday could mean juveniles were involved, authorities said, but it could mean something else entirely.

Obviously, people who do not lock their vehicles stand a significantly higher chance of being burglarized, police said.

As of May 1, the Lafourche Sheriff’s Office had responded to 108 complaints of vehicle break-ins. That number did not include the five vehicles burglarized Thursday on Orchard and Cascade drives in Sugar Ridge and Meadowview Court in Sugar Ridge West.

Unlocked vehicles accounted for about 85 percent of the vehicle-burglary complaints received so far this year, Peters said.

Peters likened the need to lock your vehicle to the need to lock your house.

“You wouldn’t invite someone to come into your home and take what they wanted,” she said, “yet people leave their purses, wallets, laptops and GPS on the front seat, and don’t think twice about leaving without locking the door.”

The reason for this, she said, could be because people feel a false sense of security because they’re living in a “bedroom community.”

“People don’t take precautions like they would if they lived in New Orleans or another big city,” said a 34-year-old St. Emma Drive man who asked not to be identified. The reason, he said, is because, like residents of Sugar Ridge, Rienzi residents believe they live in an area where “everybody knows everybody.”

But that blind feeling of security is beginning to change.

“It’s like that old saying: Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me,” said the St. Emma resident, noting he keeps his vehicle locked inside his garage. “People are going to be a lot more conscientious.”

Staff Writer Raymond Legendre can be reached at 448-7617 or raymond.legendre@houmatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @cometcrime.

<p>THIBODAUX — When Beverly Guillot went to her car outside her home on Orchard Drive Thursday morning she noticed the passenger side door had been opened.</p><p>Her purse, much to her relief, was still on the seat where she left it, and no money was missing. </p><p>Orchard Drive, which is nestled in the Sugar Ridge subdivision off La. 20 outside the Thibodaux city limits, is not a place one would expect car burglaries, Guillot said. </p><p>“Everybody knows everybody, and it's very quiet and trusting,” Guillot said of the neighborhood.</p><p>Lafourche law-enforcement officials are investigating 17 vehicle break-ins reported Thursday morning in the Rienzi subdivision inside the Thibodaux city limits and the Sugar Ridge subdivision on the outskirts. </p><p>None of the burglarized vehicles were locked, officials said. Officials described the only items stolen as “loose change.”</p><p>“People have to be very vigilant,” Thibodaux Assistant Police Chief Calvin Cooks said, urging them to lock their vehicle's doors. “This is a crime of opportunity. These people are not breaking any windows.”</p><p>It is unknown at this time whether the same person or group of people burglarized the vehicles in the subdivisions. It is also unknown how many people were involved.</p><p>Thursday's rash of incidents came just one week after a separate round of vehicle break-ins.</p><p>Ten vehicles were broken into on Camellia Drive and Parlange Street last week, Lafourche sheriff's spokeswoman Sgt. Lesley Hill Peters said.</p><p>Laptops, Palm Pilots, GPS systems and cell phones were stolen in the Camellia Drive break-ins last Friday. An undetermined amount of money was stolen from the vehicles on Parlange Street May 5.</p><p>That only “loose change” was stolen Thursday could mean juveniles were involved, authorities said, but it could mean something else entirely.</p><p>Obviously, people who do not lock their vehicles stand a significantly higher chance of being burglarized, police said.</p><p>As of May 1, the Lafourche Sheriff's Office had responded to 108 complaints of vehicle break-ins. That number did not include the five vehicles burglarized Thursday on Orchard and Cascade drives in Sugar Ridge and Meadowview Court in Sugar Ridge West.</p><p>Unlocked vehicles accounted for about 85 percent of the vehicle-burglary complaints received so far this year, Peters said.</p><p>Peters likened the need to lock your vehicle to the need to lock your house.</p><p>“You wouldn't invite someone to come into your home and take what they wanted,” she said, “yet people leave their purses, wallets, laptops and GPS on the front seat, and don't think twice about leaving without locking the door.”</p><p>The reason for this, she said, could be because people feel a false sense of security because they're living in a “bedroom community.”</p><p>Vehicle break-ins were reported Thursday on seven streets inside the subdivision: Armitage, Ashland, Ducrose, Rienzi, Rosella, St. Emma and Trinity drives.</p><p>“People don't take precautions like they would if they lived in New Orleans or another big city,” said a 34-year-old St. Emma Drive man who asked not to be identified. The reason, he said, is because, like residents of Sugar Ridge, Rienzi residents believe they live in an area where “everybody knows everybody.”</p><p>But that blind feeling of security is beginning to change.</p><p>“It's like that old saying: Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me,” said the St. Emma resident, noting he keeps his vehicle locked inside his garage. “People are going to be a lot more conscientious.”</p><p>Staff Writer Raymond Legendre can be reached at 448-7617 or raymond.legendre@houmatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @cometcrime.</p>